Okay, so I am a "junior" member. So being new, please forgive me if I bring up "beaten to death" topics once in a while. :

This is about the little screen on the front of the MAF. A little story, one day I was tinkering with my ls1 Camaro, and saw this little screen on the maf. I said "wtf" and popped it out. The next time I went to the track, I was actually slower. Don't know if that little screen had anything to do woth it or not, but I expected to be faster. Oh well, the screen was toast so never replaced it.

Well, one day I was tinkering with the intake on my LT4. I saw the little screen and said, "I remember you". But I was putting in a tornado :o (don't waste your money) and carefully removed it. I guess the belief is that it blocks valueable air. Then I saw one of those home improvement shows and this guy was cleaning the little screen on the faucet. I thought "Hmm, I wonder if that has the same effect on air?" If it does, then wasn't it doing about what that $65 tornado was supposed to do? Break down the air and organize it as it goes into the intake?

So I put it back in tonight. No noticeable change in "seat of pants" dyno, but my gas mileage went up about 1 gallon per mile. I mean one mile per gallon. So, for the engineers out there, is it possible that the little screen is really a performance enhancer rather than a restriction? I know what happens to the water when you take the screen out of the faucet.

 

Yes. Did you think GM put it in there just to keep air out of the engine?

 

Well, you know, EPA, keeping the intake quiet and all that stuff they do.